PI news review

03 March 2014

Approaching LASPO's birthday, personal injury professionals are
being asked if the reforms are working. In other news, the ABI says
auto brakes could slash whiplash stats by 18% and insurers have
promised a new PI code of ethics. PremExtra reviews the month's big
headlines…

Those in the personal injury
profession hoping for a stable set of rules had better search
elsewhere after a call from the Civil Justice Council for 'no more
than 3000 words by 7th March' was made. The CJC wants
feedback from judges, solicitors and other court users in advance
of its conference. This news reported in the Law Society Gazette
during February followed up on earlier statements from Mr Justice
Ramsey, who has promised to 'change Jackson if necessary' and had
promised to gather data on the effects of reform which he plans to
reveal in April to co-incide with the regime's first anniversary.
The expectation is that costs management will feature heavily, but
any hope of a reversal of fortunes for claimant parties remains
highly unlikely.

Insurers' PI conduct promise

Meanwhile, the insurance industry
has been trying to change the record with a new campaign aimed at
side-stepping any perceptions that it has somehow exploited PI
claims. In an announcement on 13 February, members of the
Association of British Insurers announced a new 'code of conduct'
including new standards of customer care such as making
policyholders aware when they make a claim that they can appoint
any lawyer they like and any links the insurer may have with a
recommended provider. They also agreed not to put claimants under
any pressure, aiming to resolve as many cases as possible through
the claims portal. Paul Evans, CEO of Axa UK, said: "It is members
saying we do not want to be accused of exploiting this new
environment to our own purposes in a way that would continue to
promote the whiplash culture we have lobbied against."

ABI says emergency brakes would cut whiplash 18%

There's a palpable sense that in a
few years our cars will be driving themselves. At the moment, the
key is to work out which industry group will be driving the issue,
so to speak. Right now, it's the insurers, who claim that
Autonomous Emergency Braking - currently optional on 23% of new
vehicles - should be standard on all cars. The Association of
British Insurers told the Future of Road Safety in the UK
conference on 25th February that 18% fewer personal
injury claims could result. "Even with clear safety benefits,
three-quarters of new vehicles available to UK motorists do not
have autonomous emergency braking fitted as standard or as an
option," said ABI's Motor Policy Adviser, Scott Pendry. "This must
change. Fitting this technology as the norm will not only further
improve road safety, but will significantly lower insurance costs
as AEB is taken into account in the motor insurance group rating
system."